Artur Phleps

Artur Phleps (29 November 1881-21 September 1944) was a General der Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II. Phleps was known for his command of mountain troops in the Balkans during the war, and he was shot while trying to flee Soviet detention in Simand, Romania in 1944.

Biography
Artur Phleps was born in Birthaelm, Szeben County, Austria-Hungary (now Biertan, Sibiu, Romania) on 29 November 1881 to a family of Protestant Transylvanian Saxons. Phleps served in the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I as a general staff officer, ending the war with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. Rather than continue his military service in either Austria or Hungary, he entered the army of an independent Romania, and he was promoted to colonel after disobeying orders to save his men from the Hungarian communists in 1919. Phleps would serve as an adviser to King Carol II of Romania during the 1930s, but he was fired and sent to the reserves in 1940 for criticizing the king and government policy. That same year, he secured Ion Antonescu's permission to serve in the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany; he was not allowed to join the Wehrmacht due to his status as a volksdeutsche man.

Phleps served in the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking and took command of the SS Regiment Westland in June 1941 after its commander was killed near Lwow during Operation Barbarossa. Phleps became a kampfgruppe commander and a confidant to Hans-Valentin Hube, and he became an SS-Oberfuehrer. Phleps raised and commanded the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen and later raised the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar, committing several war crimes against civilian populations in the Balkans. His last actions during the war were to evacuate Volksdeutsche civilians from Transylvania to Nazi Germany as the Soviet Red Army advanced, and he was captured by Red Army troops near Simand in September 1944. Phleps was shot on 21 September 1944 while trying to flee captivity during a Luftwaffe bombing raid; there was speculation that he had been set up by the Germans and Hungarians after he showed signs of defecting to the Soviets.